Our trip, like most good things, came to an end on Wednesday, Nov. 15. I have to be honest and admit it was longer than perhaps we’ll do in the future, thinking two weeks is probably enough.

We flew JB r/t from JFK and had perfect flights both ways. Used wc porterage on both ends of the trip and as has been the case every trip, SXM was great but JFK - not so much. But bottom line we made it to and from safely with their help and that’s what really matters.

We had no problems on arrival at PJIA and even our bags came out in a timely manner so we were whisked off to our chariot compliments of Lesley and Shirley Bruce in no time at all. They do such a great job always and really take good care of their clients. Our shiny red car with its #69 marker plates was always easy to spot.

The good people of Beachside Villas took great care of us and we were able to stay in #14 once again, right next door to the pool. Perfect unit for anyone with mobility issues. Our unit was perfect and as has become our habit, we had basic prestocking done by Jeannie of Shop and Drop. Perfect as always.

We really didn’t do very much since both of us have been dealing with health issues but the trip was very good in so many ways. We saw and spent time with friends of long standing which is always good. Celebrated the birthdays of other good friends - thank you, Barbara, for spending your birthday with us - and thanks to Sharon for inviting and including us in your celebration, a lovely evening at LaRosa, Too and to Jeannie - thank you for what you did.

We took a cab one day from BSV into P’berg to have lunch with our favorite jeweler, Manu Budrhani, at the French Touch where we got to see and catch up with the owner, Jean Pierre Pomarico, who we’ve also known since the early 80’s.

And we ate! Boy! Did we ever!

Tried some new to us places, Roma, the Secret Fish House, Dingy Beach Bar and LeBrassier - spelling is wrong I’m sure but the restaurant was good. We went to the latter with some of the BSV crew and then again just the two of us. Some we really liked and others were okay but there were some minor issues along the way. We had dinner with Kim and Ken at Sublime but IMO it just in sn’t the same without the lovely Lela. We also ate at the Yacht Club, the Spaghetti House, Marks, Chesterfields, Bar Code and a bunch of other places whose names escape me at the moment but it was all so very good.

We had dinners (or breakfasts) with Ann and Steve and special moments with Terry and Rit and spent not enough time chin wagging about airplanes with Luda and Jim. And porch time with our Canadian friends the Fraser’s was delightful, too, as it always is. And nice chatting with bdeeley again. And so many others I wish we’d had more time to spend with all of you.

I wish I had amazing feats of daring or incredible side trips to report on but not the case this year. We spent our time with friends but not nearly enough and primarily we chilled which was the whole idea behind this trip. I got to meet and put faces to names of peeps I’ve ‘known’ via the internet and that, too, is special. Robin and Ed for starters……..

And down to the wire, our return trip was on Wednesday the 15 and given all the speculation on the airports soft opening I was very apprehensive but in our case we got there very early, turned in our car to Lesley and thanks to the wonderful wc persons we cleared the airport with bags checked, passports scanned abd securety screenings done and all in about 30 minutes. And then we sat in the new departure area at Gate 4A until they boarded us via the brand spanking new jetway. And no issues at all for us at the airport.

All in all, another great trip under our belts.

Glad you and John are home and able to rest up for the holidays with family and friends. As in the past, its a blessing to walk up the beach and say hello. It is good to know that John has forgiven me for calling him DH. 😁

Thanks for the report. Glad all worked out well for you. Best wishes for future trips to SXM!!

Yes Pat , another very pleasant trip and no major hassle .
Thanks once again and Happy Thanksgiving .

Thanks for your reports.

Pat as always good to see you and John!!! And what a lovely surprise to meet your daughter Kim and her husband!! Until next time, hope all is well with you and your lovely family! Happy thanksgiving!!!

Too late to do an edit but let me add, our only frustration this trip was once again over the addition and then, in one or two cases, what I believe was the intentional misrepresentation of the much discussed service charge in some of the restaurants we frequented on the Dutch side.

I am a true and firm believer in that menu prices SHOULD reflect the true cost of the meal. If the restaurant management can’t figure out what that is, perhaps they’re in the wrong business but again, purely MY OPINION - the addition of any service charge is wrong and all too often, hurts the dedicated server in the long run.

If left to our own devices we generally tip at least twenty percent but when a s/c is added to the bill we view that as a mandatory tip and we're done.

Absolutely agree on all counts, Pat. The situation that you dealt with is intentional misrepresentation, and they still apparently can't figure it out.

Thank you for all the delightful reports. So nice running in to you and John (or is it Not Kim's Father ). My intention is to make it back to Secret Seafood to try that lobster thermidor you and John had. It looked sooo yummy!

Pat, it was a pleasure to chat with you and John. Wish we would chat more often but somehow our timing was off and every time we were around, you guys were not. glad you made it home uneventfully. We are booked for next November so hopefully will see you then.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Luda

Brian,

So nice to see you again. And not to worry about J - his glass is always half full and he’s very forgiving.

Carol and ruralcarrier,

You are both very welcome but I wish I had something more interesting or exciting to write about.

Lesley,

I know it’s not your major holiday but hopefully you and Shirley will have a happy Thanksgiving Day.

Linda,

Hope you enjoy the Thermidor as much as we did. Not quite as good as Antoine’s used to be but still very enjoyable.

David,

It’s always a pleasure and so glad you got to meet some of our family.

Luda,

If things remain status quo we will look forward to more time next November but we enjoyed what little we had.

Thanks for your report, Pat. sounds like a wonderful vacation to me!
I have a question; we also live in CT. How do you travel to JFK? We usually hire a car, but it's becoming so pricey. This year, our flight was at 6:30 am, so stayed at the TWA Hotel the night before, also adding to the total cost of the trip.

Pony, where in Ct. are you?

We have someone who takes us to the airport and is very dependable, but that is in our area.

Thanks for the great reports Pat. Also thanks for the valuable BSV info before our trip.

We're in Litchfield. Where are you?

Pony,

You are very welcome. We do a private car as well but you are correct in how ridiculous the rates are getting to be. I got a quote for next April - $500.00 rt. Actually more than one of our rt tix to SXM.

Sorry Pony, I didn't see this.
We are way closer to the airport, so I guess it wouldn't work for you.
Good Luck----:)

Yes, Pat, that's what we are experiencing too. More than the flight ticket. Ugh!

I haven't found any tickets in April that are
less than $500---Even with our miles, it came out over $1200 for two!

Count your blessings. My June first-class seat was over $1,900.

Hi Linda, I was referring to Pat's quote. We have been paying over $700 each,
But than again, we don't fly first-class.

"Count your blessings. My June first-class seat was over $1,900."
WOW. Our May/June R/T FC ran us $1650 each and our July R/T FC cost us $1900 each. Both arriving in PJIA on a Saturday but leaving mid week.

Jealous!!